Wild NightI've got a new best friend in Hong Kong, an expat New Yorker, Spike, whom I met via mutual blog and musical interests. We're about the same age, each have two busted marriages to a Jew and an Asian, have a penchant for using song titles to lead off our blogs -- but I've never driven Bruce Springsteen in a cab or jammed with Mike Bloomfield.
We met in person for the first time Saturday night in Wan Chai which, as fate would have it, was jammed wall-to-street with blotto Eurotrashitas here for something called "The Rugby Sevens." As such, many were bedecked in garish Afro wigs, pink and purple donkey and rabbit ears, face paint, horse head hats, purple sequined vests and other garb that made rabid NFL fans look like a Presbyterian deacons.
Imagine a combination of Mardi Gras and a Balkan fraternity party and you're edging close. Throw in hookers from virtually every Asian nation save perhaps Japan, and some Russian floozies and you have the proverbial cosmic ball of confusion.
On his blog http://laowai.blogspot.com/ Spike aptly described a slice of the scene:
"I especially enjoyed listening to some drunk Euro fool trying to convince a hardboiled Thai bar girl that "if you like me, then you should just want to go and be with me for tonight for no money." I didn't hang around long enough for the rest of the conversation because I had no difficulty imagining it. Her telling him how much she likes him, how much she wants to be with him, blah blah blah, but she has no money, maybe she has a baby to care for or a mother with cancer or the village water buffalo died.
"It had yet to dawn on the fool that he was talking with the proprietress of a small business, and I was thinking about asking him what he did for a living and would he render his services for free to anyone who asked and added "oh, don't charge me any money because I like you so much?" Does this sound harsh? Come on. This guy has enough money to fly halfway around the world to watch a goddamned sporting event and is stupid enough to think some girl coming from a place of extreme poverty he just met an hour ago and who knows he will be gone forever in a day is in love with him. If there was any justice in the world she would turn out to be a lady-boy."As for me, at that point I was probably was deeply immersed in pidgin Korean-English conversation with a Korean small business proprietress courtesy of Spike's introductions. He seemed to either have carnal or second-hand such knowledge of most of the women in the assorted bars and "May" was no exception. Amid all the hot pants, push-up bras and bared torsos, she stood out simply for her conservative attire. Red emo glasses, a simple white cotton blouse, blue jeans and a spiffy pair of Chucks, all set off with a generous wash of jet-ink hair.
Suffice to say that we went back to my place where I all-too-briefly realized my fantasy of being "seduced" by someone who looked like a foreign exchange English lit major.
"Okay, now you're Molly Bloom, except you're a Korean Molly Bloom. So here goes, okay? Now keep your glasses on while I.... 'Oh yes, I kissed her on the wet lush rolling heaving lambent...yes? ...grass! And she kissed and lap kissed me yes and my pumping heart pounded pounded yes perfume releasing temples throbbing yes oh yes...I will yes...yes yes."
I also said "yes" for "extra taxi money." May promptly took the offered HK$100 and bolted, not for a cab stand but to the less-costly subway before it closed. Innocent looks or not, she had balls, er, at least some brass ovaries and I admire that in a woman.
